Description
Book SynopsisPolitical parties are the defining institutions of representative democracy and the darlings of political science. This account moves between political theory and political science, and uses resources from both fields to outline an appreciation of parties and the moral distinctiveness of partisanship.
Trade Review"Incisive and deftly written... The most provocative part of On the Side of the Angels is not the discussion of parties as institutions; most people will readily grant that democracies require parties. What is more striking is Rosenblum's case for partisanship."--Paul Starr, New Republic "Rosenblum's analysis ... adds much greater rigor, clarity, and depth to [existing scholarship]... Even more, she creates a defense of partisan identification that is, at least to this reviewer, totally original."--John Aldrich, Perspectives on Politics
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: An Appreciation of Parties and Partisanship 1 PART I Glorious Traditions of Antipartyism and Moments of Appreciation Chapter 1: Glorious Traditions of Antipartyism: Holism 25 Chapter 2: Glorious Traditions of Antipartyism: Fatal Divisiveness 60 Chapter 3: Moments of Appreciation 108 PART II Post-Party Depression Chapter 4: Progressive Antipartyism 165 Chapter 5: Th e Anxiety of Infl uence 210 Chapter 6: Correcting the System: Association, Participation, and Deliberation 254 PART III The Moral Distinctiveness of "Party ID" Chapter 7: Partisanship and Independence 319 Chapter 8: Centrism and Extremism and an Ethic of Partisanship 369 Chapter 9: Militant Democracy: Banning Parties 412 Conclusion: "We Partisans" 456 Notes 461 Index 577
